A 16-shot capacity meets vintage class in Springfield’s newest SA-35 4-inch model, which brings compact carry wrapped in polished carbon steel and checkered walnut.
We were among the first to cover the reintroduction of the classic (and then-recently retired) Browning Hi-Power by an American gunmaker when Springfield introduced the SA-35 in 2021.
Since then, the SA-35 line has grown and evolved while retaining the improvements to Mr. Browning’s original design, with a chopped-down 4-inch compact model performing nicely in a review we published in April.
With its more Detective-length, the “Dick” SA-35 4-inch is very slim and actually makes a good carry gun
Now, the company has added a 4-incher with an eye-catching polished blued finish on its carbon steel frame and slide. We’ve been passing it around the office for the past few weeks to get a sneak peek.
Drink it in, folks.
This new SA-35 features a polished blued finish on its carbon steel frame and slide, giving the durable forged components a deep, lustrous appearance. (All photos: Chris Eger/Guns.com)
Complementing the polished steel are attractive walnut grip panels with natural grain and finely cut checkering for confident purchase.
As with all SA-35 pistols, its 4-inch barrel features improved feed ramp design for reliable function with modern defensive ammunition and is forged for durability and strength. It ships with a branded zipper case.
Made in the U.S.A., the SA-35 features rugged forged steel parts for strength and durability, improved ergonomics and enhanced controls, a factory-tuned trigger, modernized Tactical Rack rear and white-dot front sights, an improved feed ramp design, and an increased 15-round capacity in the flush-fit magazine.
The polished 4-inch SA-35 compared to the standard matte-finished model.
The SA-35, especially in this new polished version, salutes the appeal of the “wood and steel” era of arms making.
And yes, it shoots. This is two magazines running the BHP classic Mozambique failure drill at 10 yards. In all, we put just over 300 rounds through the pistol right out of the box without fail.
Don’t sleep on this one as a carry gun if needed. With its twin 15-round flush-fit steel Mec-Gar magazines, superior accuracy, excellent single-action trigger, and wide holster availability (see Commander-sized 1911 fits), it makes a lot of sense.
And if nothing else, it can be something of an “instant” heirloom.
Like you need an excuse for some extra steel…
The MSRP of the new Springfield Armory SA-35 4-inch polished (Model HP9205) is $799, the same as the matte-finished variants.
Earlier this year, we had Chase with EAA in the GDC studio as a podcast guest and got the lowdown on the company’s Windicator series of European-made wheel guns– which they have been importing for 30 years.
“I mean, they’re just tanks,” he said. “And look, I mean, there’s no denying that Germans make some great firearms. And they have a very deep history in making really, really, well-made firearms. For sure. So it’s just cool to see those out there. And people kind of, you know, they’re neglected. People sleep on them. They do. They 100 percent sleep on them.”
Produced by Hermann Weihrauch Revolver GmbH in Mellrichstadt, Germany – about 30 miles from the legendary Thuringian firearms-making and gunsmithing hub of Suhl – Weihrauch dates back to 1899. Btw, for those curious, you would pronounce the name “Vyre-owk” with a hard “ch” on the end. Really put the sauerkraut into it. Likewise, “Windicator” is likely a take on the maker’s last name blended with Vindicator, using the German more V-like pronunciation of the W.
After origins as a rifle maker, the company introduced its HW Arminius series revolvers in the 1960s, named for a Teutonic hero of the first century AD famous for slapping around the Romans at the Teutoburg Forest.
Imported and sold in the U.S. under a variety of brands (e.g., the Dickson Bulldog and Herter’s Guide Model) and by assorted firms (F.I.E., LA Distributors, etc.), the revolvers were a staple in hardware stores and gun shops coast to coast for generations.
An HW Arminius .32 in the Guns.com Vault and an FIE ad on the series from 1976. For reference, the quoted $120 price is $725 in today’s dollars.
EAA has imported assorted double-action Weihrauch revolvers into the U.S. under the Windicator name since at least 1993, later adding Bounty Hunter–branded single-action wheel guns from the same factory.
Today, EAA sells the Windicator in both .38 Special and .357 Magnum, in 2-, 4-, and 6-inch formats, and in blue/black or nickel (not a misprint). As snubby fans, we opted to review the blue/black 2-inch .357 (770130), right off the boat from Bavaria.
The EAA Windicator 2-inch .357 six-shot double-action revolver. Weihrauch catalogs this model as the HW 357 T. (Photos unless noted: Chris Eger/Guns.com)
It is beefy for a snub, tipping the scales at nearly 29 ounces, unloaded. By comparison, similar six-shot .357s such as S&W’s $1,300 Model 19 2.5 Carry Comp weigh 33 ounces, while the $900 Colt King Cobra Carry 2-inch is billed at 26 ounces.
The snub 2-inch Windicator is a medium-frame, not a small-frame, revolver. It feels closest, in the author’s opinion, to his Fink’s Custom (at Gunsite Academy) chopped-down S&W 2-inch K-frame.
For full disclosure, EAA provided this Windicator revolver to Guns.com for review purposes. All testing was done on this one gun, which has been under evaluation since early May.
What we found:
It takes K-frame speedloaders.
It was dependable over the course of 500 mixed rounds of .38 and .357
It has a very stout double-action trigger that you need to take your pre-workout to run at the range.
It is affordable.
The only big rock we could toss at the $400~ Windicator was its very limited aftermarket support (no grips, can’t change the sights, virtually no parts). But EAA carries a lifetime warranty if something goes wrong (by comparison, Colt runs a three-year warranty).
With that in mind, if you want to upgrade your snub with different sights and accessories at some point, you may want to look toward a Colt or S&W. The closest six-shot .357 Mag snub we can find in the Windy’s price range is the Diamondback SDR, which runs nearly $700.
If you want a basic .357 (big) pocket gun that will go bang and you don’t anticipate upgrading, the Windicator is a, well, win.
Fact: Tri-Lug Barrels are the oldest, easiest, and one of the best ways to quickly mount a suppressor.
However, the attachment style is also limited in what it can do and, sadly, is overlooked.
Where did Tri-Lug or 3-Lug come from?
In Oberndorf, Germany, in the early 1960s, Helmut Baureuter, Manfred Guhring, Tilo Moller, and Georg Seidl cooked up probably the most mature sub gun of the 20th Century– the Heckler & Koch MP5. Recycling a roller-locked action first used on legendary machine guns in WWII and carried over to the G3 7.62 NATO battle rifle, it proved durable enough to become legendary.
It also had a funky, albeit innovative, barrel accessory mounting system on the muzzle: three equal-sized (roughly 0.310-inch) raised external lugs, spaced equally about 120 degrees apart center-to-center around the outside of the barrel, and ramped towards the muzzle.
These lugs were not an afterthought, welded, screwed, or pinned in, but something machined directly from, or forged with, the same piece of steel as the barrel.
Tri-lug, as seen on a Springfield Armory Kuna (male) and SilencerCo Spectre 9 and 36M (female). (Photos unless noted: Chris Eger/Guns.com)
Even back in 1966, when the HK MP5, developed from the HK54, was introduced with its slimline handguard and straight waffle-pattern 9mm magazines, it had a tri-lug barrel.
Talk about a blast from the past…
The tri-lug barrel endured through the Cold War and into the GWOT era and is still seen on classically styled MP5s and other SMG/PCCs.
Seen above with casual SF types in an Afghanistani aloha snackbar joint in 2003. (Photo: National Archives, magnification by Guns.com staff).
The funny thing was that the tri-lug barrel wasn’t meant for attaching a suppressor. The lugs were originally for affixing accessories (Zubehör) such as a flash-hider (Feuerdampfer), a blank firing adapter (Manoverpatronengerat), and a sleeve for a 22mm cup-style tear gas grenade launcher (Granatfuhrung) fired with a blank round.
Thus:
Via an early HK MP5 manual.
Over the years, the accessories fell away while the MP5’s use with suppressors skyrocketed, especially after N (Navy) model MP5s entered the market in 1986, which included both a threaded barrel and tri-lug.
By 1988, inventor Timothy Bixler, with AWC Suppressors (Dr. Phil Dater’s old company) and Knights Armament, took out a patent (US4893426A) for a rotating collar utilizing Tri-Lug, and the rest is history.
How to use Tri-Lug
First off, Tri-Lug is a left-on (clockwise), right-off (counter-clockwise) kind of thing. Remember, “Left gets tight, right takes flight.”
Align, press down, turn to the left, release. Reverse to take off
Align the lugs, push in to depress the spring of the mount, twist about a quarter turn to the left until it passes the detents and stops, release the spring by letting go, boom. You are locked in. Reverse it to remove. Easy on, easy off, but still rock solid while in use.
Example:
Plus, with the Tri-Lug, you don’t have to worry about the suppressor backing off or loosening under rapid fire as you do with more common threaded-barrel models.
Tips:
You can’t attach the can to the muzzle by twisting in the wrong direction, as the geometry won’t work, so don’t freak out about that.
Also, new mounts and/or new barrels will likely be super tight, and the spring stout, so be sure to lube up and work them in on a safe firearm before heading to the range and trying it for the first time. Nobody gets confidence from the guy tugging on his can in the corner.
Not HK-only anymore
Besides assorted Heckler & Koch MP5/SP5 models and the myriad of clones such as the Century/MKE AP5 and SDS MAC-5, you have offerings from PSA like the AR-V and variants of the B&T APC9, GHM9, and SPC9 that sport in-spec Tri-Lug direct from the factory. Plus, you can get adapters from folks like SilencerCo that convert standard threaded muzzles to Tri-Lug.
SilencerCo’s Tri-Lug male muzzle adapter. As long as you are 1/2x28TPI, you are good to go. Other companies such as Angstadt, Griffin, and Rugged also make such adapters.
As far as making your suppressor Tri-Lug ready, there are adapters for that as well from Banish, Dead Air, SilencerCo, and others, so that’s not a problem.
SilencerCo’s Alpha Tri-lug coupler.
A new model to the market introduced earlier in the month is a dedicated Tri-Lug barrel version of the Kuna, a dependable roller-action that is fast becoming one of the most popular large-format 9mm pistols on the market.
The new Tri-Lug barrel Kuna, right, compared to the standard model.
The Springfield Kuna Tri-Lug in its natural environment, with a SilencerCo Spectre 9 attached.
MSRP for the unbraced model is set at $1,179, and the FSA-braced model’s MSRP is set at $1,330. Low-capacity 10-round options will also be available for those unfortunates living in restrictive states.
So, is Tri-Lug Perfect?
No.
As the design doesn’t support boosters (Nielsen devices), Tri-lug is tied to its original platform type: pistol caliber SMGs, PCCs, and large format pistols with fixed barrels. While primarily a 9mm offering, you also see Tri-Lug adapters for .45ACP (reverse to .578×28, 5/8×24, 9/16×24, and M16x1 LH threads), but that is about it. Plus, since the mounts are spring-based, they can wear out with extensive use, requiring new springs at some point in the distant future.
Still, for those classic MP5 styles and new offerings from folks like B&T and Springfield, the old standard can be a king when it comes to quick-detach.
Mossberg broke the mold on short-barreled shotguns in late 2016 with the 590 Shockwave pump-action “firearms,” which use 14-inch barrels and bird’s head grips that aren’t SBSs and therefore don’t require federal NFA paperwork for transfers.
(Mossberg)
With its funky hard plastic (or walnut) Shockwave Raptor grip with a sort of clumsy recoil control, and the fact that you could opt for a more standard pistol-grip-only shotgun with a gently longer (16- or 18-inch) barrel that offered more control, some folks never warmed to the concept, and that’s fine. However, those who have reviewed Mossberg Shockwaves, with its proven stainless-steel 590 series action, have warmed to the concept with the proper techniques and loads.
Plus, the new 590 Bliksem brings a few new things to the table that the more basic 590 Shockwave did not, making it easier to shoot.
Observe the 590 Bliksem:
With a 14.375-inch steel barrel and AfterShock grip, the Mossberg 590 Bliksem has an overall length of 26.37 inches. (Photos: Chris Eger/Guns.com)
Weight, with its steel receiver and heavy-walled barrel, is 6.3 pounds. It has a 5+1 shell underbarrel magazine tube.
With its AfterShock grip (which actually feels nice), oversized controls, and improved forward recoil strap, the Bliksem performs in the hand better than the Shockwave. Not only does it feel better and shoot better, but it is also flat-out more functional, ready to fill the bill around camp or cottage, veldt or villa.
So, who would the Bliksem appeal to?
First off, it is a great-looking gun that will turn heads, be it on the wall of the man cave or on the range.
For someone who may encounter tight corners and hallways or must move and shoot in a compressed space for high stakes, the Bliksem offers a serious option, especially with the right ammunition. For instance, think about Federal’s X2 9P 00, which helps avoid overpenetration while delivering softer recoil.
Add the included Esstac card and drop a sight atop the Pic rail (Holosun 507C shown), and you have something special, especially when you practise it. We were able to make easy hits on a 3/4 silhouette with reduced recoil buck to 15 yards, and slugs to 25. Loaded weight as shown, with optic, 5+1 in the pipe and 5 on the card, is right at 7 pounds.
The Bliksem could easily excel in off-road situations such as in a camp environment, especially when venturing overnight in hog or bear country. It is something that can be kept in the truck or tent, stoked with heavy, deep-penetrating solid slugs (think Brenneke’s Black Magic, or Federal’s Tru-Ball Deep Penetrator, et. al.) as a “just in case.” Yes, you might set your tent on fire in the process. Just saying.
Military small arms acquisition programs are always funny. More so if there is a “package” of accessories and goodies that go with it.
The most persistent problem lately seems to have been jumping the gun on over-ambitious optics systems on combat rifles and carbines.
We’ve already talked about the “M7 Surrogate Fire Control Program” on the Army’s 250,000 Next Generation Squad Weapons in rifle (M7), carbine (XM8), and LMG (M250) variants, which have eschewed the apparently not-ready-for-primetime Vortex M1157 Fire Control System for commercial off-the-shelf optics and lasers from EoTech and B.E. Meyers.
Similarly, in Germany, the new HK G95 program— the Bundeswehr’s dirty mustard-toned (“ekelhaftgelb“) HK416A8 rifle– is supposed to use the Leonardo-supplied Elcan Specter DR 1-4x as the companion day optic of record.
This bad boy, seen in two different colorways and with and without caps:
However, very specific changes and tweaks to the version of the Specter wanted by the Bundeswehr mean that just about every one I have seen has been wearing a very chunky Hensoldt RSA-S reflex sight atop a ZO 4x30i fixed-power optic with an IR pointer module.
Thus:
And as seen with these troops of Panzerpionierbataillon 701 in a video posted last week:
If it seems kind of a throwback, that optics combo was adopted a decade ago for the circa 2016 IdZ-ES (Infanterist der Zukunft – Erweitertes System) future soldier program for use with the G36, the rifle the G95 is replacing.
Cue the rimshot. Everyone laughs.
Meanwhile, the EOTech OGL-C is now civilian-legal and non-restricted.
While hanging out at an industry event in Idaho, we came across a fairly rare and very quiet German-made rimfire rifle and just had to shoot it.
Attending SilencerCo’s Summer Camp at the Day Mountain Ranch outside of Preston (oddly enough, the small town where Napoleon Dynamite was filmed), we had a chance to get some trigger time on some amazing platforms, most of them shooting out to extended ranges. Like starting at 200 yards and punching well out to 1,300.
I mean, with these hills, you aren’t running many 15-yard flat ranges. (All photos: Chris Eger/Guns.com)
One exception to that was a station that had some great little rimfire guns that attendees used offhand on spinner and groundhog plates at like 25 yards, squinting into the morning sun.
There was this great Volquartsen-enhanced Ruger 22/45, complete with an everlasting SilencerCo Sparrow can.
Then there was this Sparrowed FN 502 MRD with a matching Steiner MPS and TLR-7A.
But the real gem was a Heckler Koch HK270…
What is the HK270?
Travel with us back to the late 1970s. Back to when HK was the global powerhouse when it came to 7.62 NATO battle rifles, with its Gewehr 3 (G3) being standard not only in the West German Bundeswehr but in more than 50 other militaries around the globe. The G3’s little brother, the 9mm but still roller-locked MP5, was almost as popular with the black balaclava gang worldwide.
So why not market a rimfire blow-back action sporting rifle with a G3-style turret “castle” style rear sight that could be used for training, small game hunting, and sporting purposes?
Boom. That gives you the HK270.
SilencerCo’s engineers kept the gun as original as possible, save for threading the barrel to accept a modular Switchback suppressor.
We were there to get the scoop on the new gas-operated M2-G1 tactical shotgun but would be remiss if we failed to bring you at least some coverage of the factory itself. For instance, the 430,000 square feet of shotgun and rifle-making brilliance is nestled in the hills and Roman walls of the Via della Stazione, at the terminus of the region’s historic former railway station.
While Benelli began as a mechanical and motorcycle company 115 years ago in nearby Pesaro, its Benelli Armi firearm factory came to Urbino in 1967. (Photos: Chris Eger/Guns.com)
Note the old walls surrounding the plant.
The influence of Raphael – whose painting style was one of harmony, balance, and grace – and Count Federico da Montefeltro, a military strategist and benefactor remembered as “the Light of Italy,” is everywhere in Urbino and still very alive at Benelli.
Come with us as we take a closer look at the shotguns and rifles on the wall of the foyer, many of them rare and one-of-a-kind demo guns.
How about this amazing Ethos?
Note the clear polymer furniture on this Raffello
This one could be right from the 2045 catalog cover.
The Raffellos are high-end Intertia-driven Benelli autoloaders
CZ announced on Thursday that 2026 will “mark the conclusion of production for three CZ 75 models: the CZ 75 B, CZ 75 BD, and CZ 75 Compact.”
The all-steel firing pin block-equipped CZ 75 B was introduced in 1993 as an updated, second-generation version of the original Cold War “Pre-B” CZ 75 model and was the standard for the company for the past three decades. (Photo: CZ)
The CZ 75 BD variant features a decocker (hence the “D”) in addition to the firing pin block and arrived on scene in 1997. (Photos: CZ)
Meanwhile, the CZ 75 Compact debuted in 1992 and chopped about an inch off the slide and frame and a half-inch off the grip to trim the pistol down for concealment while still keeping a 16+1 magazine capacity. (Photos: CZ)
The move will close out several of the classic era CZ 75 models, save for the new CZ 75 Legend, introduced as a 50th anniversary product for the series. Also still in production will be the assorted SP/P-01 series CZ 75s, the alloy-framed CZ 75 D PCR and the CZC A-01 line, the latter being a CZ Customs-tuned model.
The company noted in a release that the discontinued pistols “have each played an important role in carrying the CZ 75 design forward,” and “have been valued by shooters for their balance, craftsmanship and proven design, becoming lasting parts of the CZ lineup and of the shooting experiences of generations of customers.”
Of course, new old-stock models are still circulating around, at least for now, but will probably start commanding a premium as CZ collectors move to round out the holes in their gun safes.
While the original circa 2004 Benelli M2 was a linear development of the M1/Super 90 line of semi-automatic shotguns, which were first introduced in 1986, the line has always used the Inertia style recoil-operation system as its heart.
There have been few complaints about the classic Benelli M2 Tactical that we have heard. I had one from about 2005 through 2016 and ran case after case through it without notable issues. I put it through several courses and loaned it out to others going to schools, all with good feedback.
Ol’ Papa Eger’s Benelli M2 of yesteryear with an aftermarket mag tube, at rest on a Navajo saddle pad sometime around 2015. No M-LOK. No optics. No lights. No Pic rails. Super rubbery furniture. Man, we used to be wild, didn’t we?
While a classic that delivers a clean, reliable, and adjustment-free system, Inertia takes a back seat to gas-operated piston systems such as the Benelli M4’s ARGO (Auto-Regulating Gas-Operated) system.
Gas guns provide a softer “push” for the user by significantly reducing felt recoil, while also reliably cycling a much wider variety of loads. Plus, gas guns hold up better to high-volume shooting such as in extended military and duty use.
So why not take an M2, give it a gas system upgrade very similar to what is seen on the vaunted “bombproof” M4, and add other upgrades? All purposely engineered to run cleaner, require less maintenance, and stay ready when it matters most.
Florida-based KelTec announced last week that a major Pacific Rim maritime agency has once again selected the company’s tactical bullpup shotgun for use on patrol.
The South Korean Coast Guard has long used the well-reviewed (once you get used to it) KelTec KSG, with some 200 of the shotguns already in service, dating back to 2015. A new contract, signed in June, will continue that trend with the pump-action shotguns used across its patrol vessels.
The South Korean Coast Guard traces its lineage to 1953 during the Korean War and has some 10,000 personnel. Like the USCG, its Korean counterpart conducts law enforcement missions, polices the country’s maritime borders, and enforces fisheries regulations, among other tasks.
It has several large frigate-sized white-hulled cutters, including the 6,500-ton KCG Sam Bong and KCG Lee Cheong Ho, as well as numerous smaller patrol boats.
The Korean Coast Guard patrol vessel KCG Sam Bong (ARS 5001). She carries a forward 40mm Doosan DST “No Bong” twin DP Gun, a 20mm Sea Vulcan, six GPMGs, and a small arms locker– including KelTec KSGs. (Photo: KCG)
The KSG Tactical serves in a less-lethal role, firing rubber and impact rounds during maritime interdiction operations, including efforts to deter illegal fishing activity in Korean waters.
The South Korean Coast Guard also has several special response units such as the SSAT (Sea Special Attack Team), and the KSG-12 has been seen with them as well as in the hands of the Black Berets of the South Korean Army’s 707th Special Missions Group, used as a breaching gun with the latter.
The KelTec KSG was officially unveiled at the SHOT Show in 2011 and has undergone several generational changes while the line has simultaneously expanded.
